The Cheney High volleyball team celebrates winning the 2016 District 7 title after a close 3-2 win over Pullman.
How does the Cheney High volleyball team and head coach Heather Zorrozua top their 2015 season, which concluded with a share of that year's Great Northern League championship with Pullman?
Try winning not only a second-straight league title, but also a district championship and an appearance at the state tournament. These accolades earned the Blackhawks volleyball team the No. 2 top high school sports story for 2016.
Cheney wrapped up a stellar season on Nov. 12 after they went 1-2 in the 2A state tournament in Lacey Wash.
The Blackhawks opened the tournament on Friday, Nov. 11 with a 3-0 sweep of South Puget Sound League champion Steliacoom, then lost to Greater St. Helen League's (GSHL) Woodland, 3-0, in the quarterfinals. The next day, Cheney was eliminated in the consolation round after a 3-1 loss to GSHL champion Ridgefield.
"Sometimes it comes down to getting a run on points and Ridgefield did that in the second and the third sets," Zorrozua said in a Nov. 17 interview. "My girls battled and played smart volleyball and left it all on the court. It was hard for it to end."
Despite being eliminated in the tournament, several Blackhawks earned accolades. Ally Jones, Taylor Gould and Marissa Peach received sportsmanship awards and Rylie Pease was selected as an honorable mention on the Eli Sports Network's 2A state volleyball all-tournament team.
The state tournament was a nice cap to Cheney's year, where they finished 11-1 in Great Northern League play and 16-3 overall. In the postseason, the Blackhawks defeated Pullman, 3-2 to capture their first District 7 title then followed it up with a 3-2 win over Othello, to advance to the state tournament.
"It's a long regular season and you play everyone three times (in the GNL), so you have to put in a lot of time and dedication to have a good season," Zorrozua, who named the league's "Coach of the Year" for the second year in a row, said. "We set goals for ourselves and were successful."
The team loses seven seniors to graduation, including All-GNL first-team selections Pease, Gould and KD Skillingstad, as well as Jones, who was named to the second team, Ellie Davis and Kristie McGourin.
Peyton Stark, who was Cheney's setter and MVP for the league, is expected to return in 2017, as are defensive specialists Hannah Lemelin and Morgan Peace.
"It will be exciting to get Peyton back, as well as having the leadership in defense (from Lemelin and Peace) for next year," Zorrozua said.
Zorrozua added that the Blackhawks' JV squad "did well this season," ending with a 10-4 record.
"Adding some of those players to the varsity lineup next year will be a big deal," she said.
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].
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